rip English · revision 6708

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹɪp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English rippen, of uncertain origin,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline) probably from a North Sea Germanic word: compare Flemish [[m|nl|rippen|t=to strip off roughly]], Frisian rippe, to tear, and [[dum|reppen|t=to rip, pull]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) or else from a Scandinavian source such as Swedish reppa.^(Etymonline) Etymonline traces these to a Proto-Germanic *rupjan-, from PIE *reup-, to snatch.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To cut, pull out or tear away vigorously: before 1400 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1400 in Etymonline, at first of pulling out stitches.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED, quoted by Etymonline, doubts that all the senses belong to the same word.^(Etymonline) To slash with a sharp instrument is from the 1570s,^(Etymonline) and to move with slashing force from 1798, as in the American ''let her rip'' (by 1846).^(Etymonline) The noun, a tear, is from 1711, in Addison's ''Spectator''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A stretch of rough water where currents meet is American from 1775, perhaps a special use of the same word;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the [[riptide]] is from 1862 and the rip current from 1936.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Rip off'', to steal or cheat, is American from about 1967, from earlier prison slang ''rip'', to steal (1904), and the noun ''rip-off'' is from 1970.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The rip cord is from 1906.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – to tear away.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – to slash.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1711 – a tear.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1775 – rough water.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – riptide.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1967 – rip off.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To tear or be torn quickly or violently.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To remove roughly or hastily, often with ''off'' or ''out''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To saw wood along the [[grain]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To move fast or violently.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''rip off'' (slang): to steal from or [[cheat]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To copy audio or video from a disc to a computer.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long tear or cut.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A stretch of rough water caused by meeting currents; a [[riptide]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ripper]]

+ * [[rippable]]

+ * [[unrip]]

+ * [[ripcord]]

+ * [[ripstop]]

+ * [[riptide]]

+ * [[rip-roaring]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ripsaw]]

+ * [[rip-off]]

+ * [[rip cord]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Another rip, a worthless horse or a dissolute person, is perhaps an alteration of rep, short for [[reprobate]] (18th century).^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) R.I.P., on gravestones, is an abbreviation of Latin requiescat in pace, may he or she rest in peace.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}